CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Dolphins found stranded on Gulf of Mexico beaches following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill were much more likely to have severe lung and adrenal gland damage “consistent with petroleum product exposure” than dolphins stranded elsewhere and prior to the spill, researchers report. One in five dolphins from the spill zone also...

Recently, a Cooper’s hawk (pictured above, being appropriately restrained for treatment) was brought to the Wildlife Medical Clinic by someone who found her on the ground, unable to fly. On observation, the bird was quiet and not very reactive. Now that may mean little or nothing to the inexperienced observer, but those familiar with this...

I recently returned from eight days in Boston, host city for the 2015 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Convention. Half of my time was spent as an ambassador to SAVMA for Illinois students, and half of my time was spent as an ambassador to AVMA for all students. All of my time was spent feeling...

I am a wildlife vet. I fix fractures, I treat infections, and I ease pain. I feed orphaned babies, I talk to little old ladies about ducks, and I spend a lot of time thinking about poop. Those of us who dedicate our lives to caring for wildlife—the veterinarians, the rehabilitators, the technicians—don’t do it...

Why am I interested in servant leadership? Why am I thrilled to pile on an already full to-do list? My first career, sports journalism, spanned more than a decade and exposed me to thousands of people. My second, after only a short time, is exposing me to thousands of extraordinary people. I believe that the...

Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of a series of student blogs. Hello! I am very excited to share the view from my window into the world of veterinary medicine. I recently completed my second year of veterinary school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I expect to complete the Doctorate of Veterinary...

Visit: go.illinois.edu/FallConference Whether you’re coming for the camaraderie with faculty and classmates or for the cutting-edge knowledge, it’s hard to beat the value at Fall Conference for Veterinarians, the college’s annual continuing education event. This year the conference will be held September 17 and 18 at the iHotel and Conference Center in Champaign, about one...

Veterinary Students Partner with the Office of the State Veterinarian for Hands-on Opportunities SPRINGFIELD, IL—Students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine will work alongside veterinarians from the college and from the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) to provide veterinary care for all animals on the grounds during the 2015 Illinois...

When Dr. Sarah Allison talks about her recent veterinary public policy fellowship, she exudes excitement. “I’m thrilled that I had the opportunity to participate in this fellowship,” said Dr. Allison, a clinical assistant professor and assistant director for the campus Division of Animal Resources. “It was life changing.” Dr. Allison was one of two inaugural...

Weight loss in senior cats is a common finding that is often overlooked, but that is a poor prognostic sign for continued good health. Dr. David Williams, a professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, in collaboration with colleagues at Nestle-Purina, is investigating the underlying cause, useful diagnostic tests, and treatments that may help...

An instrument recently acquired by the University of Illinois Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory is capable of matching microorganisms cultured from submissions against more than 5,600 distinct pathogens—bacteria, yeasts, and fungi —in the system’s database. And it takes only 90 minutes to identify up to 96 isolates. Diagnostic techniques previously used to identify pathogens, in comparison, took...